ahem, open back does not equal bare back here, I hope....
Hey guys!
I discovered the forum this morning, and have since been eagerly and patiently waiting for my account activation. This be my first post...
A little background, to better understand my needs;
When I was a wee little boy, my dad spoiled me with a Beats By Dre Studio set when they just came out. Those beats along with my ipod shuffle was used as my sword and shield against depression. I owe a lot to that pair of headsets...
Fast forward a few years... I decided to dabble a bit in better headphones and went to my closest audio shop, asked around and went home with a AKG k271 mkii closed headphones. Happy camper. As a supreme rookie in audio; the mids were clear, highs were good and I realised what I had missed with the beats all those years. Lately, they feel very 'flat'... I struggle to distinguish instrument locations in certain songs... I often find myself listening intensely to some great songs, and thinking, is THAT it? I hope this is due to my equipment, and not a lack of ability to hear good music... The later would suck, but save me a bunch of dollah dollah. :moron: Eventually it ends up in a frustrating listening experience, and I wish I could sit and listen to music for hours on end like I used to when I was still naive and ignorant.
About two weeks ago I bought a set of Bose SoundTrue over ears, to use as a travel set. I am happy with these. Super light, super comfy and fit in my laptop bag. I can easily wear them for a few hours without any fatigue.
And here we are today. I have a friend who is somewhat of an "audiophile", who owns an array of entry to mid range headphones. I listened to his Brainwavz HM5. BIG MISTAKE! It felt like I had sunk my head into a comfortable leather sofa, or a box full of the softest feathers known to man. I also loved the sound they made compared to the AKGs I already have... After watching a bunch of reviews on youtube, I pulled the trigger as I wanted a closed set to use at work anyway. So, new brainwavz pads for the AKG, pads for the beats (I keep them pristine, due to the sentimental value they hold.) and an HM5 equivalent (seems there are many sets with the same comfort and drivers), all ordered from Amazon and on their way hopefully later today.
I then proceeded to spend the rest of my evening watching youtube videos and reading reddit posts on hi-fi headphones. In the early ours of this morning, I decided that I need, want and WILL have a pair of decent open back headphones. Now I realise, as with any hobby, decent is a very bad word to 'describe' what one wants. I also seem to require some form of DAC or AMP to drive said open headphones...
What do you guys recommend I need to look at? I'm willing to drop a humble R5000.00 to get my foot into the door. Along with the HM5 and Bose sets, this will put me over 10k on audio over the last few weeks. I would have pointed and laughed at someone spending so much for a piece of metal and some magnets a month or so ago. Yet, here I am.
I am a complete rookie to hi-fi sound, and obviously have a lot to learn here. I am a snob when it comes to things my hands touch on a regular basis, I have expensive mechanical keyboards and I spend way too much money on genuine leather EDC items. I hate cheaply made things, so I'm not sure how bad that will influence what I am willing to buy here? :thinking:
TL;DR:
I want a set of open back headphones. I have a bout 5k to spend, including a DAC if needed? I don't mind buying used, I don't mind buying on Amazon.
Shower me with your thoughts and suggestions!
Reddit seems to point fingers at the Beyerdynamic DT 990... :envy: No idea?
Do I buy an 'expensive' DAC and save for better headphones? Do I buy headphones that will sound great on my Mac to get started, and then upgrade as time goes? So many options...
Hey guys!
I discovered the forum this morning, and have since been eagerly and patiently waiting for my account activation. This be my first post...
A little background, to better understand my needs;
When I was a wee little boy, my dad spoiled me with a Beats By Dre Studio set when they just came out. Those beats along with my ipod shuffle was used as my sword and shield against depression. I owe a lot to that pair of headsets...
Fast forward a few years... I decided to dabble a bit in better headphones and went to my closest audio shop, asked around and went home with a AKG k271 mkii closed headphones. Happy camper. As a supreme rookie in audio; the mids were clear, highs were good and I realised what I had missed with the beats all those years. Lately, they feel very 'flat'... I struggle to distinguish instrument locations in certain songs... I often find myself listening intensely to some great songs, and thinking, is THAT it? I hope this is due to my equipment, and not a lack of ability to hear good music... The later would suck, but save me a bunch of dollah dollah. :moron: Eventually it ends up in a frustrating listening experience, and I wish I could sit and listen to music for hours on end like I used to when I was still naive and ignorant.
About two weeks ago I bought a set of Bose SoundTrue over ears, to use as a travel set. I am happy with these. Super light, super comfy and fit in my laptop bag. I can easily wear them for a few hours without any fatigue.
And here we are today. I have a friend who is somewhat of an "audiophile", who owns an array of entry to mid range headphones. I listened to his Brainwavz HM5. BIG MISTAKE! It felt like I had sunk my head into a comfortable leather sofa, or a box full of the softest feathers known to man. I also loved the sound they made compared to the AKGs I already have... After watching a bunch of reviews on youtube, I pulled the trigger as I wanted a closed set to use at work anyway. So, new brainwavz pads for the AKG, pads for the beats (I keep them pristine, due to the sentimental value they hold.) and an HM5 equivalent (seems there are many sets with the same comfort and drivers), all ordered from Amazon and on their way hopefully later today.
I then proceeded to spend the rest of my evening watching youtube videos and reading reddit posts on hi-fi headphones. In the early ours of this morning, I decided that I need, want and WILL have a pair of decent open back headphones. Now I realise, as with any hobby, decent is a very bad word to 'describe' what one wants. I also seem to require some form of DAC or AMP to drive said open headphones...
What do you guys recommend I need to look at? I'm willing to drop a humble R5000.00 to get my foot into the door. Along with the HM5 and Bose sets, this will put me over 10k on audio over the last few weeks. I would have pointed and laughed at someone spending so much for a piece of metal and some magnets a month or so ago. Yet, here I am.
I am a complete rookie to hi-fi sound, and obviously have a lot to learn here. I am a snob when it comes to things my hands touch on a regular basis, I have expensive mechanical keyboards and I spend way too much money on genuine leather EDC items. I hate cheaply made things, so I'm not sure how bad that will influence what I am willing to buy here? :thinking:
TL;DR:
I want a set of open back headphones. I have a bout 5k to spend, including a DAC if needed? I don't mind buying used, I don't mind buying on Amazon.
Shower me with your thoughts and suggestions!
Reddit seems to point fingers at the Beyerdynamic DT 990... :envy: No idea?
Do I buy an 'expensive' DAC and save for better headphones? Do I buy headphones that will sound great on my Mac to get started, and then upgrade as time goes? So many options...
